Visakhapatnam: Elderly voters wait patiently, security personnel win hearts

Visakhapatnam: Many senior citizens were seen patiently standing in queues at each polling centre in the North Andhra region. Both in urban and rural areas, people aged over 60 years were seen in large numbers, waiting to cast their vote.

MP T. Subbarami Reddy, his wife Indira Reddy and freedom fighter Rupakula Visalakshi were some of the voters who cast their vote in Vizag city.

Though the Election Commission had set 6 pm as the deadline, polling continued up to 8 pm in Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts.

Wary of the heat, many voters reached the polling booths in the evening. Those waiting in queues at 6 pm voted by 8 pm.

Those waiting to vote were all praise for the staff on election duty who supported them.

Security personnel too assisted people with disabilities and the elderly.

However, arguments erupted between the security personnel and voters over mobile phones. The officials strictly followed the instructions and prevented any kind of gadgets into the polling booths. However, there were no cloakrooms to store them.

People who brought along their mobile phones were forced to hand them over to strangers when entering the polling booths to cast their votes.

In some areas, there were reports of people reaching the polling booths in an inebriated condition. The police and other voters tolerated them, but no action was taken.

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